India, China to sign 5 MoUs on rail, housing

India and China will sign memoranda of understanding for cooperation in rail, housing and other sectors during the three-day visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to that country beginning on Sunday.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved signing of five memoranda of understanding (MoU) in rail, housing, geo-sciences, land resource management and traditional medicine sectors, Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters in New Delhi.

The MoU covering the rail sector will promote cooperation between Chinese railways and Indian Railways.

The MoU on housing will provide a basic framework for cooperation for the two countries.

The two countries will set up an institutional mechanism for cooperation in the field of geo-sciences by signing a MoU to the effect, Dasmunsi said.

India and China also propose to jointly plan and promote their respective traditional systems of medicine.

"The MoU on traditional medicine will provide a legal framework to the cooperation between the two countries for the development of their respective traditional systems of medicines and adoption of common strategies for global positioning of these systems," Dasmunsi said.

Another MoU shall facilitate cooperation between the two countries based on principles of equality, mutual benefit and reciprocity on matters related to land resource management, land administration and resettlement and rehabilitation.